Housemates
by Living in a Casket
Summary: Dumbledore's got some new ideas on how to stop the Dark Lord recruiting his students, but it's evident that the student's of Hogwarts aren't going to like it. Especially one newly-confident witch that isn't going to do what she's told. OOC, Draco & Hermione and a little Blaise & ?
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary: "What if I'm sick of being taken for granted? What if I'm done letting people dictate my entire life? What if I'm ready to hate?" **

**Hermione ****_finally_**** has enough with everything being decided for her and she isn't about to let anyone stand in the way of what she wants this time. Dumbledore has a few ideas of his own on how to control the Dark Lord recruiting his students and let's just say that no one is going to like it very much.**

**CAUTION: If you don't like stories that jump around from first/third person in certain chapters then DO NOT READ THIS STORY, I find it a lot easier to convey what's going on in a scene by using first person sometimes, but it's predominantly third. **

**A/N: Hi guys, I'm sorry I haven't written for you in a long time and I'm sorry I kind of left G.I. Granger alone for so long, but the same badass nature is in here for you to keep you going until I get my mojo back on Army Granger. **

**This is just a little something I've been wanting to write for a ****_long_**** time and I've finally sat down today and written 10,969 words for you all to have a gander at. Of course, it's not ****_perfect_**** because it's ****_hot off the press,_**** but I'm sure you'll understand what's ****_meant_**** to be happening, anyway. It's a slow-builder, guys...and it gets a ****_bit raunchy,_**** I warn you!**

**Enjoy and review at ****_your leisure_****, it would be great to know what you think about the first few chapters.**

**Thank you!**

**As always, the characters in this FanFiction are not mine, I just use them as my puppets. If I had them as puppets, I'd make Severus and Albus kiss.**

Hate is a funny thing. The more you have, the less you feel. Eventually you're so consumed by hate that you cease to realise there are other emotions. You can't distinguish what it is you feel when you meet new people; you just assume that you hate them.

Of course, no one is hateful for no reason and everyone is hateful about something. Even me. But when do the reasons stop being enough, when does the hate have to stop?

* * *

"Ron…" I sighed, tears in my eyes, but I refused to let them spill over. I had walked in on what I had expected to see, what I had heard whispers about in the corridors.

"Hermione…" He said back, his voice pained but nothing like that of my own. He cared for me, but not in the same way.

I had told him how I felt and I thought I had made it obvious, and he had seemed interested, though we never actually spoke about it…and then I found him with Lavender. I didn't resent her for what she had done, she hadn't known. It was obvious, but Lavender was stupid and ignorant. When she had something on her mind, it consumed her every thought and that though just so happened to have been Ron in the previous weeks. Lavender was confident and pretty and girly…everything that I wasn't. That didn't mean I wanted to be like her, but it meant she got what she wanted…she got what _I_ wanted.

Little more was said between Ron and I before we broke up for the summer. He had taken it upon himself to explain that what happened with Lavender came out of nowhere but he really, truly felt for her. I hadn't the heart to hate him, for where was my reasoning? We had never verbally confirmed what I had thought to be true; I could have made it all up in my head for all I knew. I sighed and nodded and smiled, told him everything was okay where I needed to. I'd lied through my teeth to Harry telling him that I didn't care and I had just been shocked to see him like that. I admitted everything to Ginny.

She knew that I was upset and that I understood, yet didn't understand at the same time, she loved her brother and she loved me, so she wasn't bias and she didn't bad-mouth Ron at all. She just sat, and listened, and told me that everything was going to be alright. She never told me that Ron and Lavender wouldn't last, she never told me that I was prettier than her or that Ron would come to his senses eventually, she just listened and let me say everything I needed to say. I didn't need her lies anymore than Ron or Harry needed mine. Everyone knew how I felt, I just never verbally confirmed it…_gee, and doesn't that sound familiar?_


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry, I don't know what to do, I haven't heard from Hermione all summer." Ron murmured, rubbing his temple. "I didn't want to hurt her, she's my best friend, and so are you…I wouldn't do something like this to you, you know that."

Ron had been thinking about this over the summer. He had felt guilty for a while, and then he had forgotten about it…well, pushed it to the back of his mind at least. In all honesty, he hadn't thought about it until a week before Harry was due to arrive…and the only reason he thought of it then was because he measured the amount of times he had written to and received letters off of Harry to that of Hermione. Harry had written six times and Hermione…well, Hermione was six less than him.

"I know you wouldn't, Ron. She was just shocked, she told me. I haven't heard much from her over the summer, either. We rarely do because of her living in the Muggle world." Harry explained, patting his friend on the back. "I'm back and forth between Grimmauld Place all the time, so it's easier for me to send letters, not to mention I've got Hedwig." He shrugged. "And you never wrote to her, remember."

Ron felt guilty again after Harry mentioned that. Yes, he had neglected her friendship over the summer he had spent with Lavender. He had enjoyed his summer and didn't regret it, but setting aside a few minutes a week to write to Hermione wouldn't have been the worst idea in the world…but any time he had at the beginning, he didn't know what to say or where to begin.

_Hi, Hermione_

_I'm having a great time with Lavender, you know, the girl you caught me touching in the Gryffindor Common Room that night…_

No, something told him that she wouldn't be very fond of that letter at all. He wasn't completely oblivious as to how Hermione had felt about him and it hadn't been unreciprocated, but Lavender had caught his eye, shown him attention and affection and soon he had dismissed the idea of Hermione and her cool dismissals every time he asked her to go anywhere. Surely she had come to understand that?

"I know you're right." Ron sighed, getting up off of his bed so that he could get inside. They had a long day of travelling ahead of them and Ron needed all of his strength to face Hermione.

* * *

"We're going to miss it!" Harry panicked, running along the platform as quickly as he could. "It's setting off in ten minutes, Ron! Hurry!"

Rob trailed behind in a mess, still pulling his jacket on as they headed through the gate to the Hogwarts Express. It was a miracle they had made it, considering how late they had woken up.

"That's the last time we use one of Fred and George's _alarm clocks_." Harry said sternly as they handed over their luggage to be loaded onto the train.

"They said it worked…" Ron muttered, getting on the train and heading to find Hermione or an empty compartment – whatever came first.

"They own a joke-shop, Ron." Harry snorted.

They made their way down the carriages, but there was no sign of their bushy-haired friend, but they did find an empty compartment and climbed inside quickly, the train starting to move almost instantly.

"Hopefully Hermione didn't miss it." Ron said, not too sure of his sincerity in that one. Harry took no notice.

"It's Hermione, she probably didn't even leave the station when we arrived here at the start of summer." He joked.

It was well known that Hermione was a bit of a sucker for school, often getting bullied about it by Slytherin's and always would be, she enjoyed the challenge of learning new spells and was probably the only student that didn't like going home for summer, thought she enjoyed it at Christmas.

"Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with that girl." Ron said jokily, for they loved every part of their friend and hoped she would be along soon.

The two of them dropped off to sleep shortly after the train left the station, having been up late talking about the coming year. Harry was worried about what the return of the Dark Lord would have in store for them now, while Ron was fixated with whether the dynamics of his relationship would be affected by Hogwarts. It wasn't a secret that relationships didn't bode well in the school year and Ron was worried about what idle gossip – and dealing with Hermione – might damage.

The door creaked open and the two boys roused slightly, still half-asleep, looking up at the doorway. Stood there was a slim, yet curvy girl in a modified uniform that definitely drew Harry's attention. She wore a fitted black skirt that rested just above her knees with a fine slit up the side that reached to practically the apex of her thigh and hugged her figure to the top of her waist where a shirt was tucked in…which was also _very_ fitted; her smooth, milky legs looking to go on for miles in a pair of killer heels. She didn't wear a jumper and her long, black prefect robe bellowed around her, even in the deathly still air of the stuffy train. Only upon looking at her face did Harry realise who it was.

_Hermione._

Only, it wasn't Hermione. The skin was too cool and light, her hair was pitch black and held only slight way curls as it shone like liquid tar down her back, much longer than it had been the last time he'd seen her. She had blood red lips and long, thick lashes. _Makeup. Hermione…wearing makeup!_

"We're almost there. You two should change into robes." She said simply before disappearing. She had almost perfectly recited some of her first words to the duo and it made Harry feel eleven years old again. Had that really just happened?

Harry looked over at Ron to see the same look on his face. Perhaps Hermione had changed a lot over the summer and it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. Then again, this was Hogwarts and _anything_ could happen.


	3. Chapter 3

The boys changed quickly and waited in their compartment to arrive on the Hogwarts platform. Both of them said nothing about what they had seen, yet kept up their conversation about being back at Hogwarts.

"I'm sure I'm going to regret this the second we have Potions…but I'm quite glad to be back." Harry said, though his idle chitchat was very false, even if he meant what he was saying.

"Or Divination." Ron rolled his eyes, pretending only a little better than Harry had.

Once the train had stopped, the two of them left the train and headed towards the carriages that would take them to the main site of Hogwarts so they could go to the Housing Ceremony for the First Year's on their returning night. Harry and Ron got a carriage with Luna and asked her how her summer had been, what she thought the new First Year's would be thinking, whether anyone new was starting. Apparently, for the first time since they had begun their education at Hogwarts, no one had.

Well, that stumped Ron for explaining what they had seen. He sighed and sat back, no longer taking part in the conversation between Harry and Luna until he was asked a direct question.

"Where's Lavender?" Luna asked in her soft voice, smiling genuinely.

"She's coming with her father tomorrow, she had a wedding today and couldn't come." Ron answered.

"That's a wonderful, joyous occasion. Who did she get married to? I thought you were together…"

Words failed Harry, and so, he laughed out loud and explained exactly what Ron had meant. They laughed together and Luna didn't even look embarrassed – her upbringing in the middle of nowhere with her father meant that she learnt very little slang, even in the Wizarding world, and expected everything to be phrased like it was by her father, or in books, which explained why she was the way she was. Ron's spirits were lifted and his mind was taken off of Hermione for the duration of their trip to the Great Hall.

"Students, old and new…I welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dumbledore said with a smile, lifting his arms to draw attention to the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall to display something new for the year, as he always did. Of course, it would change considering what time of year it was but it was nice to see all the different things he could do with one simple enchantment. "Now, for the sorting ceremony…"

The Sorting Hat Ceremony was quick and simple, there were no complications or arguments like when Harry was placed and he smiled to himself at the thought. Once all of the First Years were placed where they needed to be, Dumbledore made his way to the podium once again and called for everyone's attention.

"Thank you." He muttered, opening a large, dusty book and rearranging his glasses on the tip of his rose. The hall was silent in respect for the old Wizard. "Now, for the new Prefects of every House. You may not be aware who they are and I would like to introduce them to the younger students." He said, offering his hand out to the Hufflepuff table and calling out two names. They both stood up and walked to the front; the same with Ravenclaw.

"Hermione…" Ron began to say but was cut off by his attention flicking to her name being called.

"Hermione Granger and Seamus Finnigan for Gryffindor." Dumbledore said.

The room fell silent as they stood and walked to the front; even the Slytherin's watched Hermione in astonishment. She walked with an heir of confidence and 'don't try anything' no one had seen in her before. Harry swore he could see a few gaping jaws. Dumbledore, however, didn't react and called the Slytherin prefects out.

"Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy for Slytherin."

Draco was his usual arrogant self, seemingly unaffected by Hermione's appearance. Pansy, however, was still gaping as she walked up, staring at the Gryffindor girl.

The usual ceremony continued and Dumbledore dismissed the prefects to take the first years' to their rooms for the night, since it was their curfew, the younger years would follow along shortly. Ron and Harry's year, since they were the eldest, were allowed to roam the grounds and school until ten on weeknights and midnight on weekends, so they stayed in the Great Hall and conversed with the people they hadn't seen over the summer months.

Immediately they were barraged with questions that even they didn't know the answer to. In fact, half of them they were asking themselves still.

"Was that _Granger_?"

"What happened to her?"

"She's hot!"

"Is this because of Ron and Lavender?"

"Is she single?"


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione walked the Gryffindors to the Grand Staircase with the rest of the prefect's and their first years'. Seamus walked beside her and made sure the little Gryffindors knew where they were going.

"Gryffindor Common Room this way. Keep up, please. You don't want to get lost on your first night." He smiled to himself, seeing now why Percy Weasley had put a little fright into them on their first night – it was fun and made the job easier. Sure, there was no actual danger and getting lost would be understood, but he didn't want to get the blame because he was sure they wouldn't blame Hermione. But was she _still_ Good Girl Granger? She certainly didn't look like the same person…

Hermione stayed silent as she walked beside Seamus, letting him have his fun with the first years'. Sure, she liked the idea of being a prefect before, but now it seemed like a chore. She would get a few luxuries, however, and that was worth it for the time being. She could always resign and let one of the Patil sister's have it.

Once the first year girls were settled and the candles had been doused, Hermione shut the door and met Seamus on the landing above the Common Room.

"Now what do we do?" Seamus asked.

"Did you not think to read the information letter?" Hermione snorted. Seamus looked taken aback, but shook his head in reply.

"I thought it was we knew already."

"Well then, you should know what we do now…" Hermione said, raising her eyebrow.

"C'mon, Hermione, I worked hard for this and I don't want to mess it up." Seamus said. She barely kept a straight face, not wanting to outwardly show how pathetic she found it.

"We report to Dumbledore for further instructions, as is the rule after we complete anything he personally sets us." She said monotonously, relaying practically word-for-word what the letter had said.

"Thanks, Hermione." Seamus said with a grin, looking her over appreciatively. She rolled her eyes.

"Next time, read the fucking manual." She tossed over her shoulder as she headed for the Grand Staircase.

Seamus watched her leave with shock on his face. _Did Hermione Granger just swear? At me? Was she really just…rude?_ Something told him to be upset and angry with her, for he had always been a friend to her, but the testosterone in his body told him '_hmm, she's playing hard to get…fun_' and he followed after her.

As she made her way to Dumbledore's office, quite a distance considering the heels she was wearing, she began to think about everyone's reaction to her and she wasn't sure she liked it. Sure, she was a smart girl and would even have considered herself a _book worm_ before…but was wearing something a little more sexy – yet completely under prefect regulation – really something for everyone to drop silent and stare mouths gaping at her? She rolled her eyes at the thought and rounded another corner.

"Granger." She heard from behind her. _Apparently someone was left with his speech. Great._ She kept walking and completely ignored him. She heard his footsteps quicken, but she stayed the pace she was, no need to run from someone like Malfoy. "Granger, I'm talking to you." He snapped, reaching her side.

"I know," She said in a sultry voice, smirking over at him, before setting her eyes ahead once again, "I'm just not interested in anything you have to say." She shrugged without missing a beat.

"Well, haven't you changed." He said, finally breaking his façade of being completely unaffected by her, before going straight back to it. "But a new look and a bad attitude doesn't change your blood." He sneered.

She stopped and pulled out her wand at the same time, pinning Draco to the wall with the tip pressed to his chin, lifting his head.

He was ramrod straight against the wall and looked at her with slight terror in his eyes. He might have been an arrogant prat in Hermione's eyes but he knew she was good with spells and it wouldn't be wise to piss her off any more than he had…and since there was no one in the halls after kicking Seamus off the scent, his image was still in tact as far as anyone but Granger was involved. He still managed to scowl down at her though.

"Here's what's going to happen…" She said sweetly before lowering her voice and whispering into his ear. A shiver ran down his spine at the velvet voice she used, "You're going to hold your tongue or I'll cut these…" she reached down and rather firmly gripped his manhood in her hands, making him wince, "and it" she laughed, "_out_."

And with that, she stepped back, put her wand away and made the last leg of the journey to Dumbledore's office, leaving a slightly flustered, pained and ego-raped Draco Malfoy dumbstruck in the hallway. He righted his suit, cleared his throat and looked both ways to make sure no one had seen that.

_Hermione Granger, what the fuck was that about?_


	5. Chapter 5

"Esteemed members of Hogwarts…I welcome you to my office and hope that you had a safe journey today." Dumbledore said, addressing the prefects. "Now, I am sure that you have all read the manual for your new _job_ _titles_." Dumbledore tittered to himself, obviously knowing that Seamus hadn't and Hermione doubted that any of the Slytherin's had, either. "But for those of you who need a reminder, here's a shortened copy…" He said, levitating a sheet of paper in front of each of them.

The sheets read:

_Prefects of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are expected to complete these duties in payment for their special accommodation, rules and exceptions:_

_Patrolling the grounds until student curfew _

_Reporting any kind of misbehaviour seen, even when off duty_

_Protection of the school and its students_

_Supervising meals in the Great Hall_

_Organising, supervising and working social events, trips into Hogsmead and anything else extracurricular _

_Tasks set individually by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore_

"If there are any questions, please ask them now." Dumbledore said.

"How will we know who is patrolling and where?" One of the Hufflepuff prefects asked.

"Ah!" Dumbledore exclaimed in excitement. "Alas, that is why you're here!" He grinned. "I feel that the time has come for House rivalry to become a thing of the past. People have been hurt and moulded in later life by such things and I feel it is a time for _change_." He began, stepping down from the higher platform in the room to stand amongst us. "Therefore, I had set a schedule that _mixes_ prefects and also have allowed the paintings to allow prefects into _any_ Common Room they wish." He said.

Immediately there was uproar in the room.

"But a _Slytherin_, let alone _Draco Malfoy_ in the Gryffindor Common Room! That's madness!"

"A _Ravenclaw_ in the Hufflepuff Dorms…they're so messy!"

"You can talk, you're all OCD freaks!"

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore called for order and everyone went quiet, though there was still muttering. "I have done this because I feel _you_ are the age where prejudice will get you nowhere…where enemies can become allies…and we all know how important allies are at this time."

Hermione knew that Dumbledore was doing this because of the rising amount of recruits in Slytherin that the Dark Lord was getting his hands on. It was no secret that the Headmaster respected and protected all members of his school, including Slytherin, and apparently was going to try and use the other three Houses to _turn Slytherin good_. Hermione didn't hide her snort in the silence.

"Hermione, child, do you have something to say?" Dumbledore asked, taken aback by her outburst.

"This won't work." Hermione said simply. "You're giving a Gryffindor like Seamus Finnigan an excuse to set hexes and Weasley Wizard Wheezes traps all over Slytherin Common Room. You're giving Pansy Parkinson an excuse to torture the Patil sisters until they end up in St. Mungo's. The Ravenclaw's are no real fans of any house and let's not get started on the bedwetting Hufflepuffs." She rolled her eyes, putting up a hand to stop the prefect of that house arguing.

Despite her outright denial of his plan working, Dumbledore smiled at Hermione and walked over to her.

"That is why there are several things I have planned to bring the Houses together." Dumbledore said.

He had smiled in a way that Hermione could only describe as devious before he turned and went on to other business like he hadn't said anything about the Houses. Hermione would have to stay on their toes, as would all of the prefects…and only some of them knew it.

"Each of you have your living arrangements sorted and I have had your luggage delivered there for you. You will find the location on the back of the pieces of parchment you were given. I will be in touch about patrols soon. As for tonight, take this time to get to know your fellow prefects…" He said before seemingly disappearing from vision completely.

Hermione looked on the back of her piece of paper. _Looks like I'm going to the Seventh Floor. Penthouse…nice._

* * *

Making her way to the Seventh Floor, Hermione was glad not to run into any of the other prefects. She couldn't be happier that the prefect quarters were so far away from the Gryffindor Common Room…_that explains why it's off limits to students_. _At last, a place I can escape everyone now that I've read the Library a hundred times over._

Once on the right floor, she followed the directions until she came to a very old, very large door. It was old fashioned – much like the rest of Hogwarts, but it was beautifully carved and looked to be in good condition. When she placed her hand on it to enter, she felt nothing and her hand slid right inside.

_Enchanted door to only let prefects through…awesome._ She passed through the door and shuddered slightly at the thought of passing through something – at least it wasn't as bad as when Nearly Headless Nick flew through her. She shuddered again just from the thought. As she came into the light she could see that at the end of a rather long stone hallway was a large room decorated in red, gold, blue and green. She narrowed her eyes as she walked in further, hearing murmuring and frustrated whispers. As she entered the room, she was awe-struck with the beauty of it all.

The room was large, probably the size of the Gryffindor Common Room but was decorated only slightly like it. The rest was alien to her. Some parts were dark and dingy and others were bright and happy, others intellectual and thought-filled. Come to think of it, every different kind of furnishing had appropriate colours to the mood. Rolling her eyes and sighing heavily, Hermione threw her bag down and glared at the other members of the prefects: Seamus Finnigan, Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, Padma Patil, Terry Boot, Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy.

"Lucky me." She said sardonically. "Looks like Dumbledore is beginning his little experiments with us." She said, looking at each of them. "So play nice." She scowled.

"Who died and made you King?" Pansy hissed, stepping forward.

"No one…yet." She said, playing with her nails. "Look, the more we fight, the more Dumbledore's going to do to us. If we _deal_ with this, we might get through this without killing each other." She finished before picking up her bag and entering the room with her name on it, leaving them to stew. She could hear them muttering outside but it was nothing that warranted another visit into the _Common Room_.

"Is she usually like this?" Susan asked what Hermione assumed to be Seamus.

"She's got a point…" Terry spoke up.

"To hell with her point." She heard Draco snap, footsteps clicking and then a slam that shook her own walls.

"What's eating him?"

"He's stuck in here with you filthy half or no-bloods." Pansy whined.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shut out the conversations around her, casting a silencing charm on the room so that she could at least speak freely if she felt like letting out her irritating vocally. Of course, it would be useful to know if a full-scale war broke out in the Common Room so she kept it so she could hear what was going on there.

As she finally took a look around the room, she was shocked to find that it looked nothing like her Gryffindor room – it was dark and dingy – covered in metal and green, black and white silk sheets. In fact…anything in the room: if it wasn't black, it was dark green. Hermione groaned and yanked the door open, checking it again for her name and the Gryffindor sign. Of course, it was right and she sighed, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath, shutting the door. Obviously Dumbledore thinks it's a good idea to understand each other's decorating as well. _Hermione Granger living like a Slytherin…who would have thought it? This job definitely isn't worth it._

* * *

"Granger, of all people!" Draco scowled as he paced. Pansy was sitting on the bed, watching him carefully and with complete adoration and annoyance on her face.

"Who does she think she is?" Pansy scowled, of course her jealousy was more about the looks she got and the power she clearly had over most of the people in the Common Room when she spoke a moment ago.

"I was thinking more about the fact she threatened me, Pansy." Draco scowled over at her.

"She's bluffing." Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "As for touching you, she obviously just wanted to see what you're hiding…I know I do…" She smirked, getting up and walking over to him slowly, attempting seduction.

"Now isn't the time." Draco dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"Draco, you can't just ignore my _needs_ because _that little_ _Mudblood_ got the jump on you. It was a fluke and we all know it." She said, putting her hands on either of his shoulders and kissing along his neck.

"That _fluke_ meant she could have killed me had she wanted to." He said, tearing away from her.

"Oh, please, you're being dramatic." She rolled her eyes again. "Granger is good, but she's not good enough to kill a Death Eater." She snorted. "I'm actually quite turned off at the lack of faith you have in yourself…it's quite pathetic." She sneered.

"Then get out." He snarled at her nastily, glaring.

She didn't say anything as she got up off of his bed and walked out of the room. He sighed, looked like he'd have to spend some money to fix that one – he'd turned her down for sex and then thrown her out of his room. Pansy wasn't the worst person in the world, but she could be frustrating when he was trying to be serious. Sure, he was a Death Eater now…or at least in training, but that didn't mean that he was invincible. As long as Weasley and Potter were at Granger's side she'd be untouchable.

Draco was then hit with an idea and he grinned evilly to himself. _Oh, Granger…_


	6. Chapter 6

The night had been rather restful, considering the silk sheets. Hermione was surprised how comfortable, but wouldn't say anything to anyone about it. She felt like she was selling herself out slightly for the comforts of the Pureblood Slytherin dorms.

Wrapping her short silk kimono dressing gown over her silk nightdress, Hermione climbed out of bed and ran her fingers through her hair, deciding on tying it up in a messy bun on top of her head with her long fringe down to cover her makeup-less face. Sure, everyone she was going to see this morning had more of a shock actually seeing her with makeup, but she'd grown comfortable wearing it and uncomfortable with not. The door creaked as she opened it but it looked like the dorm was empty. _Thank Merlin._

Making her way to the built-in kitchen of the Common Room, she proceeded to put two pieces of bread under the grill for toasting. Apparently, despite being fully stocked like muggle University accommodation, Dumbledore still didn't agree with toasters.

Since the prefects weren't part of the students and had to supervise meals, rather than take part in them apart from on special occasions, they were given food and a kitchen to make their own meals in the dorm. Hermione thought it handy and a lot more like home, but she knew it wouldn't be as good when the rest of the prefect's woke up – or returned from wherever it was they had gone.

Once her toast was done, she stood at the breakfast bar, leaning on the counter as she ate her breakfast. Of course, the blissful silence was interrupted before her second bite and it just _had_ to be Draco Malfoy to the rescue of her _boredom_.

"Morning, Granger." He said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"Good morning, Malfoy."

"No ferret today?" He asked as he began preparing his own breakfast. Hermione was confused as his tone wasn't hostile and almost seemed curious. She kept her guard up, but played along for the sake of seeing what was going on.

"That's reserved for those special occasions when you're cute and call me a Mudblood." She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him excessively to mock him.

"Flirting this early in the morning, Granger?" He asked with a suggestive raise of his brow. He was definitely trying to knock Hermione off of her confidence. She could play that game too.

"Oh, don't worry, I have a good _idea_ of what it would result in…and it's not a _big_ deal." She said.

Biting her toast and smirking, she picked up the plate and walked over to the sofas of the Common Room. Food wasn't allowed in rooms but she was trying her damnedest to get away from him and eat as quickly as possible without looking disgusting.

"That's good. Pencil-neck _virgin_ isn't my style anyway." Draco said without missing a beat. Hermione's irritation was beginning to show and she snorted. "What was that, Granger? Denial? You are the Weasel's dirty little whore." He asked.

Hermione knew what he was doing – he was winding her up to see how far he could push it. She was going to take everything he gave her and give it all back tenfold.

"It's a shame how wrong all of that statement was…" She said, finishing the last bite of her toast and smirking as she passed him, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning up to whisper in his ear as she had the night before. "Well, except for the dirty part."

She was back in her room before he had time to retort. Sure, it could be taken several ways. The main two were sexually and that she was a _dirty_ Mudblood, _let Malfoy figure that out for himself._

Malfoy stood; irritated at how his little banters this morning had gone with her. She had played off everything he threw at her like they were friends having a joke around. She had kept cool and calm, a few times he thought he saw irritation, but she would deliver a quick-shot wit from that sharp tongue and he'd almost struggled to find replies. He scowled down at his hands.

"Woah, what did the milk do to you this morning?" Malfoy heard the voice of his best friend emanating from the doorway.

"Blaise." Malfoy sighed, letting a genuine smile cross his features for a moment before it was gone.

He was glad to see his friend, but he couldn't forget that they were in a setting where they weren't alone and had reputations to uphold. It wouldn't do for anyone to know that Malfoy truly valued Blaise's friendship…it could be used against him by quite a few people. Most thought it was a friendship of convenience, but they knew what was really going on.

"How'd you get up here?" Draco asked, confused.

"You're looking at the new prefect of Slytherin." He grinned.

"Replacing Pansy?" Draco was still confused.

"Nah, Dumbledore said you'd explain something he said last night. Said you'd understand what this was about…something to do with breaking tradition?" He said, not quite relaying everything properly to his friend, for he couldn't remember.

"Ugh." Draco groaned, rubbing his temple as he took a deep breath.

"Uh-oh." Blaise said. "I only ever see that look when a woman turns you down. So I've only ever seen that look like three times…" Blaise's joking helped Draco calm slightly and he sighed, moving over to the sofas and sitting down, Blaise followed.

"Dumbledore has the idea that we're the age of Witches and Wizards that need to accept one another…starting with the House rivalry at Hogwarts."

Blaise's eyes opened more that seemed possible and sat back in the sofa, his hand over his eyes for a while. Without removing them, he spoke.

"And let me guess, that means you're all living together and that explains this whacked out decorating?"

"On the money." Draco sighed. "I wondered why there were spare rooms." In all fairness, he hadn't though about it until now and he wished he had paid more attention. "We don't know what's going to happen but it seems every time we argue amongst ourselves, something new happens that forces us closer together." Draco sighed, seeing what Hermione meant, though he would never admit that the Mudblood was right.

"What do you mean? Like, Dumbledore's got this place wired?" Blaise asked.

"Of course not, Zabini." Draco said dryly, frustrated. "I don't know how he knows, but he does. We've argued twice and each has resulted in something. I mean, I'm living in some goddamn Gryffindork squalor with _woollen_ covers, for Merlin's sake!"

"Woah, calm down. Silk was never my thing anyway." Blaise said. "So…is it just the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's?" He asked, looking around at the other colours, answering his own questions, but Draco answered him anyway.

"Of course not, the man's not a fool though sometimes I think it's possible; he knows that the most animosity is between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but there's bad blood between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, too. Not to mention the fact that aside from that all four houses aren't on the best terms as it is." Draco explained.

"So you understand why he's doing it?" Blaise asked and Draco nodded. Blaise was confused. If Draco understood why Dumbledore was doing this, then why was he acting like the man was a fool. Would it not be better to recruit people from all sides, keep them in school and keep them recruiting other people than to stick with just Slytherins?

"I've thought of that…before you even say it." Draco sighed. "Dumbledore's entire reason for doing this is to stop the Dark Lord recruiting Slytherin's because we all turn into Order-bashers. I understand it, but it won't work and I don't like it." He hissed, pushing the untouched food away from him and leaning back on his arm, looking at his friend. "Tell me you're going to love living with a bunch of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. C'mon, tell me how much you want to share silverware with them…" He sneered, looking at the spoon in his bowl of oatmeal and nearly heaving.

At that moment Hermione walked through the Common Room on the other side of Draco and Blaise. She paid them no attention and leant down into the fridge for a bottle of water. Blaise watched her appreciatively before turning to Draco.

"Draco…I wouldn't mind sharing a _bed_ with her. Who _is_ that?" He asked.

Before he could answer, Hermione spoke up, swallowing her mouthful of water and giving Blaise a deadpan look.

"A girl with exceptional hearing. Your room is over there, Zabini." She hissed before leaving the room and going into her own.

"Do not tell me I just hit on Granger."


End file.
